LeAnn Nealz, the chief creative for Uniqlo Global Design, says that the modern design and innovative fabrics reflect a contemporary way of life for the brand’s fans. (Photo courtesy of Uniqlo)
In the fast cycle of fashion, inspiration usually come from designer runways in Paris, London and New York. Soon after, similar looks can easily be bought at more affordable prices from European retailers like Zara and H&M. A lot of them are a stand-out piece, like a peplum top, a high-slit dress or a kimono-style trench coat.
But for Japanese retail giant Uniqlo, fabrics deserve seasonal updates as well.
In a media preview for the spring/summer 2015 collection held in Tokyo earlier this month, Uniqlo proved their standpoint that in clothing, there are more dimensions than just trends that they care about.
The key approach for the new season is a hybrid between sportswear and casual, and not just the styles, but also the functionality. Uniqlo’s famous water-repellent Ultra Light Down material gets a higher level of water proofing. Its skinny-fit tapered jeans now use a new fabric to make them 20 percent lighter.
It also combines some features in both men’s and women’s ranges — such as quick drying and wrinkle resistance, with elasticity. One of the oldie-but-goodie materials, the thin, light and smooth AIRism which dries quickly and is anti-body odor, is now able to control bacteria-caused odor that often comes after laundry machine use.
LeAnn Nealz, the chief creative for global design at Uniqlo, who oversees a group of designers in New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo and Shanghai, says people’s lifestyle is the main inspiration at Uniqlo. Prioritizing fabrics is in the DNA of Uniqlo as a brand.
“I think it’s very relevant for today’s world, too. Everybody’s lifestyle is so much more active and they are looking for easier-care fabrics and garments,” she says.
Nealz takes the more-reserved Japanese culture into account when working on each collection.
“In a way, there is a quietness to it, it is not screaming anything and easy to mix them in with something that you wear,” she says.
“If you’re really fashionable and wear something really wild, you can still wear a piece of Uniqlo.”
Compared to keeping up with trends, maintaining the consistency in simple clothing is harder to do, Nealz explains.
Which is why fabric is important. The wool blend jacket for men now features more stretchable fabrics. The new Dry Stretch Pants for men, which Uniqlo developed with professional golfer Adam Scott, are 100 percent synthetic, despite the cotton-like texture.
In the women’s department, new key items include the clean-cut and minimalist Cotton Cashmere Knit dresses, and the stylish yet versatile bomber and rider jackets with diamond-shaped quilting.
Because research and development for fabrics takes time, Uniqlo goes the extra mile by working with materials experts such as Japan’s Toray Industries and Japanese denim maker Kaihara. According to Nealz, it took 10 years to develop HeatTech, the thin warming material for winter clothing.
This step is also considered a strategy to stay ahead of competitors such as Primark, Zara, Forever 21 and H&M. Uniqlo’s co-global chief marketing officer, Jorgen Andersson, says that to develop such uniqueness is his job.
“[There are] a lot of companies that are quite similar. If you look at their window display, it’s very hard to [differentiate] the brand. But if you go into a Uniqlo store, you can say it’s Uniqlo,” he says.
Apart from the commitment for fabrics, Uniqlo also aims for global appeal among all of its customers.
At the moment, the UT — Uniqlo T-shirt — collection is heavily influenced by American pop culture. UT offers sweats and T-shirts that boast famous artworks by Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock and Keith Harring.
For the upcoming year, UT will expand the collection by carrying famous non-American figures, such as Belgian comic hero Tintin, the Mr. Men and Little Miss characters from Britain’s children’s books, and Holland’s Miffy.
“Being a global brand today is about leverage in the similarities,” says Andersson, the former chief executive of H&M Switzerland.
“Going forward, the ambition is to try to do as good as we can on the global level, but at the same time respecting and being observant about what the local needs.”
During his days at the popular Swedish retail company, Andersson saw the collaboration between H&M and high-end designers such as Stella McCartney, Roberto Cavalli and Comme de Garcons.
“But that’s H&M because H&M has no consistency,” he says.
“I think Uniqlo has something else. A good example is our collaboration with Jil Sander, who is the queen of perfection and simplicity.”
The collaboration “Uniqlo + J” with Sander began in 2009 for the autumn and winter collection, and continued until 2011.
Moving on from the previous relationship with the German designer, Uniqlo is currently strengthening a collaboration with French socialite and style icon Ines de la Fressange. The spring and summer 2015 collection marks their third season together.
“What makes Ines special is that she is not the designer, she’s just very good at putting things together. The way she dresses, there’s a Uniqlo-ish way in her DNA,” Andersson said.
Design director Naoki Takizawa is in charge of interpreting her sense of style, resulting in a basic collection with a French twist. He explains that both Japanese and French cultures are different, but share the same stoic sense of what defines beauty, chicness and simplicity.
“The concept of ‘Parisian chic’ is not only for them who live in a specific area, but for people all around the world,” he says.
The Ines collection is inspired by Morocco as the socialite’s preferred summer holiday destination. There is a breeze of Mediterranean feel to the styling palette, with thematic hues in vanilla, limestone, delicate caramels and grays. Despite their structures, new items like sport jackets and vintage-style sweat shirts managed to stay feminine and chic.
The Ines collection, Andersson says, is part of Uniqlo’s strategy in paying tribute to the locals. In this case, it is French fashion, women and culture.
“Because the whole world of fashion is so artificial, I think Uniqlo can add authenticity,” he says.
After finishing his lap at the media preview, Dan Bailey of influential fashion blog Tokyo Dandy says he is very pleased to learn that Uniqlo is keeping the new collection functional and not crossing over to fashion. He adores the choice of fabrics, which are “great, always top notch,” and admits to wearing HeatTech pieces every winter.
“The key aspect is taking what they are already good at, which is the basics, and dressing them up further and making the technology better,” he says.
“It’s great because it’s never going to be on-trend or off-trend, but it’s going to continue to get better.”
The Jakarta Globe was a guest of a media tour to Tokyo sponsored by Uniqlo Indonesia.
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